Unashamedly and unexpectedly Rousseauian in her outlook, Solnit attempts to dismantle the Hobbesian beliefs that communities affected by disasters need to be protected from rampaging mobs, requiring that government suppress panicked masses and save the day.

Staff Sargeant Kim Hughes is a bomb disposal operator in the British Army undergoing a gruelling six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan during which he defuses over 100 improvised explosives devices, better known as IEDs…